A Fishing Game with Actual Water [New: Splashing video!]

[narF]

A Fishing Game with Actual Water.

Play outside. Splash the water in the bowls to catch the falling fishes. Get wet!

Pictures and video are at the bottom of this page.

[narF]

Hi everyone.

I've been working on a videogame that involve real genuine H2O and a lot of plastic to cover and protect the laptop from its wetting invasion.

It's co-op and versus at the same time. Just go for the high score and get wet.

Might also include some actual real living fish. We'll see...

I'll post some pictures and more info soon!

[narF]

Oups! Sorry. I think I posted my message again?? (Wow! I haven't used any forum in so long! I forgot how it's working)

Anyway, I just wanted to gives more details before I get home and I'll be able to post actual pictures.

So like I said, I'm making a game that requires the player to mess around in actual water. It's intended to be played outside during summer events. The videogame mechanics are pretty simple: you just try to catch all the fish falling on the screen and trying to catch more fish than your opponent.

The catch (oh, did I really made that pun?!) is that the controller you are using are 3 real bowls of real water. Hit the right bowl of water at the right time to catch the fishes! Obviously, since you have to do this really fast, it involve a lot of splashing water around. Hence the "outdoor summer" aspect!

To do this, I'm using a MaKey MaKey. I actually ordered one specifically for this gamejam! MaKey MaKey is a thing you plug by USB and it turns anything into a controller. In this case, bowls of water.
Here's a promo video of the MaKey MaKey to explain what it is:

And yes, it actually is quite simple to use that thing!

Anyway, I made some test and I'm surprised at how easy it was to implement. I'll post some pictures and videos later today!

[narF]

Here's how the setup works:

The 2 players gets 3 bowls of water each. The bowls are connected to the MakeyMakey.

setup

IMG_0371.JPG (34.16 KiB) Viewed 731008 times

To play, you place 1 hand on the tin foil plate, which is grounded, so that the contact is detected when you touch the water.

tin foil

IMG_0372.JPG (19.87 KiB) Viewed 731008 times

We were able to test the full setup yesterday. I'll post pictures later.

What do you guys think so far?

[SuperMoof]

This is super awesome. I'm excited to see a video of it in action!

[narF]

PICTUUUUURES!!!!

This is the 1 player only setup:

bowls

IMG_0361.JPG (97.81 KiB) Viewed 730927 times

We see the MakeyMakey on this one:

MakeyMakey

IMG_0359.JPG (79.12 KiB) Viewed 730927 times

Also shown: my 3 days beard!

[narF]

How can I embed a youtube video on this forum??

[narF]

During the weekend, I brought the game to a public park where people could try the game. It was a great success. People really seem to enjoy the game. They were also able to quickly understand how the game worked and had fun immediately.

There is still stuff I need to fix though. Since the game spawns the fishes at random location, there is a chance that a player gets more, which is unfair. Should be an easy fix though.

As for the setup itself, the player tend to splash A LOT of water. More than expected, which is COOL!! Problem is, at one point, it was enough water to mess with the wire connections. Next time, i'll put the plastic cover over the wires to protect the whole installation instead of just the computer. We'll see how it goes.

Also cool: My game will be shown on TV!! (well, web tv actually) I'll post the info when I know more

[narF]

I brought A Fishing Game With Actual Water to other places and events around Montréal. Here are some other videos:






If you're in Montreal and you want to try the game, I'm bringing it to the next Parcade on Sept 21:

[ashleyco]